First impeachment of Sara Duterte

First impeachment of Sara Duterte
First impeachment of Sara Duterte
	The House of Representatives motions to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on February 5, 2025
Accused	Sara Duterte, 15th Vice President of the Philippines
Date	February 5, 2025 – August 6, 2025; (6 months and 1 day)
Outcome	Impeached by the House of Representatives, remained in the office of the Vice President of the Philippines
Charges	Culpable violation of the Constitution; Betrayal of public trust; Graft and corruption; Other high crimes;
Cause	Controversy over the use of confidential funds for both the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education; Alleged assassination threat against President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez; Involvement in extrajudicial killings of drug suspects;
Impeachment vote by the House of Representatives; (February 5, 2025)
Votes in favor	215 / 306 (70%) (Additional 25 verified as complainants)
Not voting	66 / 306 (22%)
Result	Impeachment successful, previously being processed until its nullification by the Supreme Court
Vote by the Senate to remand the motion to the House of Representatives; (June 10, 2025)
Votes in favor	18 / 23 (78%)
Votes against	5 / 23 (22%)
Result	For certification of the House of Representative of the impeachment complaint for non-violation of the Constitution; and confirmation of the 20th Congress of the lower chamber if it was still willing to pursue the impeachment complaint
Future action by the House of Representatives
Result	Certified the impeachment complaint as constitutional (June 11, 2025); 20th Congress confirmation on whether to pursue the complaint remained pending until its nullification by the Supreme Court
Ruling by the Supreme Court; (July 25, 2025)
Votes in favor	13 / 15 (87%)
Not voting	2 / 15 (13%)
Result	Ruled that the fourth impeachment complaint used to impeach Vice President Duterte was unconstitutional
Vote by the Senate to transfer the articles of impeachment to its archives; (August 6, 2025)
Votes in favor	19 / 24 (79%)
Votes against	4 / 24 (17%)
Present	1 / 24 (4%)
Result	Transferred the articles of impeachment to the archives; halted the trial pending the resolution of the motion for reconsideration filed by the House before the Supreme Court

In December 2024, four impeachment complaints were formally filed against Sara Duterte, the 15th vice president of the Philippines, who was serving under President Bongbong Marcos. The fourth complaint was approved by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2025, paving the way for an impeachment trial in the Senate.

The Senate convened months later, despite calls from impeachment proponents for the trial to begin immediately. On June 10, 2025, the Senate remanded the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives.

On July 25, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the impeachment complaint against Duterte was unconstitutional, barring any new impeachment complaint against her until February 6, 2026. The Court also ruled that the Senate could not acquire jurisdiction over the case and that no impeachment trial would proceed. However, the Court maintained that it was not absolving Duterte of the allegations against her.

Duterte became the first vice president of the Philippines to be impeached, although she remained in office because the Senate did not render a final verdict.